June 26, 2015 — This
summer marks a special milestone for Jesuit Fathers Frank Reese and Don Ward:
together they have served the church as priests for 100 years.

Frs. Reese and Ward are
celebrating their 55th and 45th anniversaries of
ordination, respectively. The two priests have served together at St. Therese
Church in Mooresville, North Carolina, for the past four years, and each taught
at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia earlier in their careers.
But their experiences in between have ranged from Africa to South America to
the Midwestern United States, as the two priests have served mental hospital
patients, the poor, high school students and many other communities.

Fr. Reese spent many of
his years teaching in high schools — first in Pittsburgh, then later at St.
Joseph’s Prep. When he moved to Hot Springs, North Carolina, he began directing
spiritual retreats at the Jesuit House of Prayer.

Later, Fr. Reese served
in Mars Hill, North Carolina, where he worked with the community to build St.
Andrew the Apostle Church in 1991. There, he learned Spanish in response to the
growing Latino population in his parish. "Studying
the Bible in a new language was a great gift. It opens your eyes in a different
way,” Fr. Reese said of his time there.

Fr.
Ward taught at St. Joseph’s Prep and Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C., but
his love of new cultures led him to serve in Santiago, Chile, where he worked
at Hogar de Cristo (Home of Christ) helping the needy. He then served in
Tanzania and the Dominican Republic, among other
countries, and in
between, served parishes in the Northeastern United States. "It was
challenging. It grew on me,” he said of his time abroad, but he laughs that his
superiors have "matched the jobs to my
personality."

Both Frs.
Reese and Ward have advice for men discerning the priesthood. "Pray. Talk
to people. Trust," said Fr. Reese. "Keep trying to follow the leading
of the Lord. In my experience, the Lord leads. It may require patience. Trust
requires that."

Fr. Ward
agreed that prayer is essential. "Pray. Have a spiritual director. Stay
close to the Eucharist." And of the decades in the Society of Jesus, "It's
been a joy ride," said Fr. Reese. "Some days!" joked Fr. Ward. [Source: Catholic News Herald]

(Washington, D.C., March 13, 2018) — Father Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, has named new rectors for the two Jesuit theology centers in the United States. Fr. Michael Boughton, SJ, will serve as rector of the Faber Jesuit Community at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry (BCSTM), while Fr. Martin Connell, SJ, will serve as rector of the Jesuit Community at the Jesuit School of Theology (JST) of Santa Clara University.

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